Unlimited Potential: An Update on Western Sydney's Economy

Western Sydney's economy is booming. Gross Regional Product (GRP), or the economic value created in Western Sydney has grown faster than the rest of Sydney in every year since 2016. The annual growth rate over that period has averaged 3.8%, compared with 2.5% in the rest of Sydney, 2.3% in NSW, and 2.4% in Australia. The past year has seen modest growth of 1.7% but this is still far greater than the rest of Sydney (0.4%) and Australia (0.9%).

The growth in jobs has followed suit, increasing by 2.3% per annum compared with 1.2% in the rest of Sydney. From a small economy lacking in diversity early this century, Western Sydney has grown to become a diverse and thriving economy.

In this report we track these indicators and other measures of success proposed in our Unlimited Potential: Economic Strategy for Western Sydney report (Perry et al. 2024). Value (GRP growth), professions (the percentage of managers and professionals), qualifications (the percentage of people with Bachelor or higher degrees), and participation (the employment to population ratio) are all trending positively relative to previous years and the rest of Sydney.